New lease of life for Sive Ringfort
CAHERSIVEEN’S ancient structures have stood the test of time for hundreds and thousands of years. But every once and a while a little help is needed to revive antiquity and help persevere its memory for future generations to enjoy and appreciate.
That is what’s happened at Sive Ringfort which has just been wonderfully restored to its actual dimensions by local stone mason Gerry Clifford. Local historian and author Junior Murphy was on hand to give Gerry a helping hand placing the stone slab over the entrance way to the fort, which lies on the outskirts of Cahersiveen town.
Gerry has almost completed restoration work on the original Sive Ringfort, which dates back to the late Bronze Age (2,500-500BC). The refurbished fort will now feature as part of a new Heritage Trail in Cahersiveen that incorporate various historic sites associated with Daniel O’Connell. The route will be around 2.5 km in length and will take an hour and a half to complete. It promises to be a welcome boost for tourism in the area.
“It will form part of a complete tour with various signs along the trail. This structure is built on the original site of Sive Ringfort. The stone was demolished to help build the RIC Barracks in Cahersiveen. There was nothing left of the old fort so I think it’s nice for tourists to build an image of what it would have looked like,” Junior said.
The original fort was probably built as a defensive homestead. Such forts were often built by someone of high social rank and as symbols of prominence and defence in the landscape.